In public and private networks, it is common for a content provider to make content available to other network users. For example, a publisher of a website may provide content to users of the public internet. More generally, content may be hosted on a server and made available over a network(s) for viewing or other receipt by other devices on the network, and by users thereof.
In many scenarios, it is possible for network users to contribute directly to such provided content. For example, a website provider may host a website which provides content to a plurality of network users. Further, the website may be enabled to receive additional, user-supplied content, which may then be added to the website and thereby made available to other users. In this way, the website provider may provide a forum in which users may contribute or define the development of the overall content of the website.
Many examples exist of such sites which are at least partially user-generated. For example, bulletin boards may be provided on the Internet in which a site provider provides a forum for users to post opinions or other information, often about a particular designated topic. As another example, website providers may host one or more sites which are designed to allow users to create and update individual blogs, in which each user posts content or other information. In yet another example, content providers, e.g., newspapers or magazines, may provide a comments section after each article or other piece of information, so that individual users may provide opinions or other comments about the related article/information.
In general, it is desirable to be able to catalog, access, or otherwise characterize discrete elements of information (e.g., webpages or portions thereof) which are available on a network. For example, such characterizations may enable searching of the characterized content, so that desired information may be located therein. In another example, such characterizations may enable advertisers or other users to make a determination as to the suitability of the characterized information for a desired purpose (e.g., for association with a particular advertisement).
In practice, however, it is often difficult to develop such characterizations of the type of user-generated content referenced above. For example, such user-generated sites may vary greatly with respect to one another, e.g., in terms of format and content. Moreover, even within a particular site, it may occur that the individual nature of the various contributing users, among other factors, may lead to a great variation of the overall resulting content and format.
Consequently, it may be difficult to identify, extract, and/or characterize desired information from such user-generated content. As a result, a value of such user-generated sites may be reduced with respect to content providers, advertisers, viewers, or other users thereof.